Enderborn
by Random13245
Summary: (Real original title there, Random...) Rythian always knew what he was. He never wanted to admit it. But what happens when the Queen sends for him to come home? How does he tell Zoey? What does the Queen want with him? Rated T for... I dunno little kids might get nightmares. Pre- nuke explosion, post Enderdragon attack.
1. Come Home

**_Oh god, what am I doing...? *sighs* I've brought this upon myself, my obsession with this fandom has drove me to do something drastic: actually write a fanfic for it._**

It was a slightly normal day; Zoey was swimming in the pool, which was the only thing that stayed in one piece after the Ender Dragon attacked, and Rythian was inside what was left of the magic room, recreating the magical items Zoey'd lost in the prison.

_ Rythhhiiiaaannnnnn... _a hoarse, dark voice called out.

"Zoey? Was that you?" he called through the crumbling walls of Blackrock. He doubted this to such and extent he almost didn't ask, but he did.

"Was what me?" she called out from the pool.

"Nothing..." he mumbled.

_C'mon, Enderborn, I know you can hear meeeeee... _the voice taunted in a strange tongue. He shuddered. _I'm hearing things,_ he told himself, _paranoia from the attack._

Zoey walked into the castle, dripping with water from the pool.

"Hey, Rythian, wassup?" she chirped happily as she rung her blazing red hair out.

"N-nothing..." he spoke, trying to seem normal, but he was sure his voice faltered. Luckily, Zoey was already not paying attention and chatting to red mushroom.

"Yeah, George, that's a great idea! Let's go see what Paul and Ringo think!" she ran off. Rythian wanted to release the breath he'd been holding in, but there was no relief to feel. The voice continued to persist, and more and more voices began calling out for him, and in trying not to listen to them he found himself feeling unable to move. When walked back in, now holding John, she noticed he hadn't moved. At all.

"Rythian?" she said, concern growing in her voice. The sound of her voice barely broke the almost sound-proof barrier of all the other voices in his head.

"Yes, Zoey?" he forced himself to unfreeze, and return to his magic.

"You alright...?"

"Yes..." he mumbled, his voice barely audible.

"Alright..." Zoey hesitated, but turned to go down the ladder to mineshaft and start figuring out what she needed to deactivate the nuke.

_ You will come home. the Queen will make sure of this, Enderborn._


	2. Nothing

A dark figure stood over him. It's overly long black arms reached for him.

_It's time to come home, Enderborn._

He awoke in a cold sweat. His body was rigid from the nightmare. He looked around and took in his surroundings. Blackrock. The master bedroom. He looked to his side, but Zoey wasn't there. _She's just working on the nuke._ He reassured himself, but his paranoia already had him out of the bed and heading towards the mineshaft trapdoor to check on her.

She was there. Asleep and drooling on the stone below her, but there, nonetheless. He gently scooped her up and carried her back to bed.

He didn't sleep at all the rest of the night.

When Zoey woke up, she was surprised to find Rythian already up, and pacing the floor, deep in thought.

"Rythian?" she murmured groggily. He froze, mid-step.

"Oh, you're awake." he responded.

"Yeah, um, what are you doing?"

"Nothing." He hurried out of the room.

_The Queen will get you, Enderborn._ The voices persisted. Finding it impossible to shut them out, he instead started to respond.

_Shut up! _he'd yell in his head, _All of you! I'm staying here! Shut up!_

Zoey grew more and more concerned, and Tee slowly became easier to talk to than Rythian, ironically. She couldn't quite articulate a decent way to ask what's wrong. What's wrong doesn't quite fit, it doesn't answer all of her questions.

The Endermen started showing up all around him, inside the castle, outside the castle (it wasn't as secure as it used to be, and it was even easier for them to invade). He started using Enderbane constantly, even sometimes on mobs that weren't Endermen, solely out of paranoia. His hands were covered in welts and scars from holding the sword constantly.

Zoey gathered the nerve to ask about the scars on his hands, but his response was null.

"Nothing..." he'd say and walk off. Even when it didn't make sense, his answer was always "Nothing.". Zoey gave up on saying anything to the crazed mage.


	3. Speaking

_**Just so you guys know, I post and type most of this stuff on my kindle, so if anything is in /insert word or words here/ It's supposed to be italics, my kindle doesn't do italics with the note thing that I'm using to type my rough draft. I am 99% sure I fixed these in the copy/paste mode on FF. Also my Kindle has auto correct, so if anything doesn't make sense, PM me or post down in the reviews the line that doesn't make sense and I'll fix it :)**_

Rythian spoke; more than the one word he seemed to always say. He spoke a sentence. Zoey didn't understand it complete, but it was progress in her opinion.

"They are coming for me, Zoey..." he seemed to be trying to get a whole point across in a single sentence, but the meaning was lost to Zoey. She tried very hard to decipher the seemingly hidden message amongst those words. _They_? Who were _they?_ She often wondered, but she didn't want to ask, for fear all progress towards Rythian explaining would be lost in that question.

The next Rythian began disappearing for days at a time, only coming back to rest. He didn't say a word.

He'd go out, and rampage through all the Endermen, slicing with Enderbane, and searching for a Ender portal, from which they could be coming from. He was tired of them, trying to draw him home. Most likely to be killed for- dare he say it- _treason_. He couldn't tell Zoey. She wouldn't understand.

Zoey was sitting next to Teep, venting her ever worry to the mute dinosaur. She had no clue if he was listening, but it sure felt like he was.

"He's been acting so strange- surely you've noticed! Here for a day, gone for 3..." it made no sense to her, and even if it made sense to Tee, it didn't matter. Teep couldn't talk, Rythian wouldn't talk, and Zoey talked, but with understanding.

Rythian knew what he had to do. Face it. He had to, instead of destroying the portal as he had planned, go through the portal. To the End.


	4. Note

**_Sorry about shorter chapter, I forgot to save the rough draft and had to complete rewrite the whole chapter and I honestly couldn't be bother to include everything I'd originally type, but it's mostly all there._**

He wasn't sure how he'd tell Zoey without her following him, which would be way to dangerous. However, he couldn't bear the thought just leaving her, without ever coming back or saying goodbye. He started back to the castle, deciding to figure out when he got there.

Zoey was sitting in the lounge, talking about empty topics with Tee. Then, her mouth moved before her brain thought, "I just don't get it! What is Rythian trying to hide? Why he can't he tell me? Doesn't he trust me?!" She found her voice growing more and more angry. She sighed, "Sorry, Greenman, that was uncalled for..." Teep nodded to show his understanding.

Rythian walked into the castle. He passed right by the lounge and went straight up stairs. He grabbed a book and quill and sat down on the bed and began feverishly scribbling down words.

"Zoey,

I know you want answers, believe me I know. But all I need you to know is that I have to leave, and I may not come back. Stay safe, for me. And there is one more thing that I absolutely positively need you to know. I love you.

-Rythian"

He tore the page out and shoved it into his pocket. The last thing Rythian wanted was for Zoey's last memories of him to be sad. He was bent on leaving her fond last memories. _ Happy._


	5. Nether

_**Sort of a filler... don't kill me! I post several chapters a day, sometimes there are just gonna have to be fillers.**_

Rythian rushed down the stairs, and burst into the lounge and sat down across from Zoey. He honestly didn't think any of this through. At all. So his split second decision was to see if Zoey needed any more supplies for the nuke, so they could possibly go on some sort of adventure.

"Hey, Zoey." He said, trying to be casual, "So is there anything you need to deactivate the nuke that we don't have?" Zoey was stunned, but she was not passing up the opportunity to actually talk to Rythian.

"Actually, yes, I need a blaze rod." She said, attempting to mimick the casual tone in his voice.

"So to the Nether?" he presented the adventure.

"To the Nether." She agreed. He turned to Teep.

"I trust you'll look after the castle while we're gone? You're not exactly set up to face the Nether." Rythian said to Tee. Tee nodded, just as stunned as Zoey. "Alright, let's go, Zoey." He started for the door, and Zoey followed.

In the Nether, they flew together until they found a Nether fortress and retrieved the blaze rod they needed. The pair then returned to Blackrock and Zoey went back to working on hacking the nuke. Rythian tried to help, but Zoey refused to let him. To Zoey, everything was going to be okay again. To Rythian, everything was falling apart.


	6. Gone

_**Hey! Just wanna say thanks for 118 views on the overall story in 3 DAYS! I've never had such a popular story :)**_

Weeks passed of what seemed to be normal days, or at least to Zoey.

Rythian planned to leave today, and he tried to hide the crack in his voice when he talked to her today. He didn't want to. He needed to. He pulled the note from his pocket, and reread it for what seemed to be the millionth time today. He just had to be sure it made sense.

Zoey was out in the farm, tending to the sprouting crops and hungry mooshrooms. This was his chance, there wouldn't be a better distraction. He stuck the note to the chalkboard and slid out of the castle. He had to go out through the back of the castle and weave behind the mountains. He couldn't risk Zoey seeing him.

Zoey hummed as she farmed. She hummed happily. In her eyes, she had Rythian back. He wasn't distant and silent anymore. She'd forgotten when he'd told about "they" coming for him, it no longer troubled her. Teep was doing a quick perimeter check before joining Zoey with the mooshrooms.

-(line break)-

Rythian had equipped himself as best he could; full infernal armor, a red katar, and an enchanted bow. He couldn't, however equip himself with the knowledge that Zoey would be ok when he was gone.

He closed his eyes and sighed as he flew towards the portal he'd found.

-(line break)-

Zoey wiped the sweat off her forehead when she finished. She looked to the sky to find it was already getting dark, and she should be going inside soon. So she did, trotting at a calm pace, calling to Tee that it would be a good idea to go up in his watchtower, which she'd spent several days fixing. She planned on fixing some of the walls of the castle, too. She walked into the castle.

"Hey, Ryth, what's cookin, go-" She was cut off by the emptiness of the castle, "Rythian...?" she said as she peeked into the magic room, then the lounge. She saw the note and rushed forward, almost sure Sjin had taken Rythian the same as he'd taken Tee, but she was dumbfounded to see it was Rythian's handwriting. There was no mistaking the smooth way he wrote. She read it aloud.

"'Zoey'," she paused, "'I know you want answers, believe me I know. But all I need you to know is that I have to leave, and I may not come back.'" her voice cracked, "'Stay safe, for me. And there is one more thing that I absolutely, positively need you to know.'" she could barely read the next line as she choked on her tears, "'I love you.'"

_No,_ she thought, _No, no, no, no!_ She crumpled the tear stained note, refusing to believe it's smeared words. The next thought was past her lips before she knew it.

"I love you, too."


	7. Almost

Rythian stepped into the portal. _This is it,_ he thought. A flash, and he was in the End. He silently regretted pinning down his Enderside for so long, because now, with the influence of the End, it was almost stronger than him.

Almost.

-(line break)-

Zoey tore the crumpled note. She was still crying, and now Teep had come to try to comfort her. Well, as best a mute dinosaur can comfort a heartbroken girl

"He's not gone. He's not gone. He's not gone." she kept repeating, to the point of almost believing herself.

Almost.

-(line break)-

A low hiss rattled him, "Enderborn," it spoke, "you've decided to come, finally." Rythian hated hearing the Queen' s voice. She spoke the language of the Enders, and Rythian had tried his hardest to avoid ever needing to speak this.

"Yes." he kept it short.

"Have you any clue why your here?" the Queen hissed.

"No." Rythian could've made some snarky remark about the Endermen becoming even more annoying, but he resisted. She'd shown no interest in killing him, yet, and he didn't want to provoke her.

"Simple." she began, "_You_, are an imperfection, how one of my perfect Endermen and a disgusting human combined to create you, is beyond me."

Rythian inhaled sharply. She was just barely stepping around the concept of killing him.

"And _I_ can't have such imperfections just lying around, now can I? Especially when those imperfections have... fallen in love." Her voice was cold, unforgiving.

Rythian looked away. He discreetly took out Enderbane, ready to fight. This was definitely a suicide mission, but he wasn't going to make it easy for the Queen.


	8. Displays and Cut-outs

Zoey laughed. Not her usual laugh, though. This laugh was full of hysteria and uneasiness.

"Haha, you're funny, Rythian." She said to the cardboard cut-out of Rythian she'd made. She treated the cardboard as if it were human. Zoey had always been a little crazy, but this was a different kind of crazy; the kind that sent you into hysteria over the littlest thing. The kind that made you believe people were there when really weren't.

-(line break)-

Rythian's eyes slowly opened. He was aware for the first time in weeks that he wasn't dead. He was chained to a wall, bound at his hands and feet, but alive. He was sure of it. He'd woken up several times before now, but all the other times seemed surreal, nightmarish, like he was dead. But the room around him was definitely real this time. His vision blurred as he tried to recollect what had happened in the weeks prior to this realization. The Queen... why hadn't she killed him? She had the perfect strike lined up- sure she was wounded, but nothing compared to the damages Rythian sustained. She had the perfect chance to kill him but She didn't. _Why?_

__-(line break)-

Teep could hardly look at Zoey anymore; her hair, once neatly pulled into a pony tail, was now a blazing rat's nest resting on her head, her eyes, her beautiful blue (In _Rising_ her eyes are blue, so that's what I'm sticking with) were thickly outlined with brownish bags from lack of sleep, and she'd stopped eating and grown terribly skinny. Not to mention, she just wast herself anymore- both appearance and mental wise. Teep hated being around when she was talking to the cut-out. He missed Rythian terribly, and while Zoey found some bizarre comfort in the fake Rythian, it only hurt to see it for Tee. She'd also abandoned the nuke, and honestly couldn't care less if it went off.

-(line break)-

Rythian tried to break free from the chains, but found them to be enchanted with unbreakability (that's totally a word...). He sighed, resigned to his fate. He took a moment to observe his surroundings. It was a small, concrete walled prison. There was nothing but emptiness, no bed, or even toilet, not that it mattered, seeing as he was bound to the wall. It was clearly designed to hold those on death row.

-(line break)-

Zoey was stunned by Teep' s actions. He'd taken the cardboard Rythian and torn him to shreds. Tee could not hold back his resentment towards this stupid cut-out.

"Tee, why would you do that to Rythian…?" she sounded dazed. Tee growled, and chopped down harder on the cardboard in his mouth. "Tee…" she paused, "I… know it's not Rythian…" her voice cracked. She was a pretty bad liar, and Tee could see it in her eyes, she still was gripping, like a child to their blanket, to this cardboard. Tee spit it out onto the ground bitterly, and marched back to his tower.

-(line break)-

Rythian bit his lip as he heard an Enderman getting closer. He knew the Queen would never fit in this prison, so she couldn't come retrieve him. She'd sent a minion.

The Enderman stretched his long black arms to undo the chains binding Rythian to the wall. It hissed and motioned for him to follow. Rythian was in no mood to give the Queen any more reason to kill him, so he followed. He soon regretted it though. The Enderman led him into a Colosseum type place. The Queen didn't kill him when she had the chance for one reason: _She wants his death to be a display._


	9. The Slaying of Rythian Enderborn

Zoey tried to salvage the cardboard Rythian, but settled on simply making a new one. Tee tried to protest, but seeing as he's mute, he couldn't really argue. Zoey kept on going, making the new Rythian. Hopefully, this time not to be destroyed by Teep.

-(line break)-

Rythian didn't dare show any shock or fear. It could be turned against him. The Enderman shoved Rythian into the center and, having had enough, Rythian reached for Enderbane to slash the Enderman. Enderbane wasn't there. He'd been stripped of all his weapons and armour. He tried not to look worried, but his eyes betrayed him.

"Scaaaaared, Enderborn?" taunted the Queen, "You should be."

The Colosseum had filled with Enderman, all waiting for the blood shed. Rythian knew, without any armour or weapons, he was helpless. He hated that feeling: _helplessness_.

-(line break)-

Zoey hugged the cardboard.

"It's so great to have you back, Rythie! I don't know what came over Tee…" she squealed in delight. The cut-out made no move to hug back; it couldn't. But to Zoey, it did.

-(line break)-

"Welcome, my loyal Endermen," the Queens pompous voice echoed, "to the slaying of Rythian Enderborn." The crowd erupted into cheers, which were more like excited hisses. The Queen smiled deviously down on the mage. She tossed him a wooden sword. "_He'd fun._" she said faux sweetly. "Let the slaying begin!" Two doors on either side of the wide stadium, and in poured Endermen. Actually, only one Enderman in each door. Rythian struggled, having only a wooden sword, but managed to kill them.

"Oh, that's just the beginning." The Queen said.

The doors opened again, to reveal twice as many Endermen as before rushing towards him. His wooden sword was about to break. He was about to break.

-(line break)-

Zoey hardly did anything but talk to the cardboard. She didn't bother with the nuke, and her farm was pretty dead. The mooshrooms mooed hungrily, but Zoey hardly heard them. When she did, she fed them, she didn't want them to die, but she didn't want to let Rythian out of her sight.

Tee couldn't tell her, but he still held onto the belief that Rythian was still alive.

And he was, but if the Queen got her way, he wouldn't be for long.

_**Bet that title scared you x)**_


	10. The Queen

**_I am in a lot of pain right now. I just got my bottom braces, and for whatever reason I have coils in them, and they hurt. They've made my bottom molars hurt to the point of not being able to eat fast food fries soaked in a milkshake. Also, I'd love to say I'm sorry for last chapter's title, but I'm not. I got exactly the reaction I wanted :) Great authors can make your feels explode in one sentence, authors like me are just mean. x)_**

Rythian slashed the Endermen, but took heavy damage as they disappeared and reappeared behind him. He kept spinning around, and clueless slashing his sword about in hopes to hit something.

He was about to break, but suddenly the Endermen disappeared. In a confused daze, he noticed the Queen glaring at him.

"Weak. But I suppose I can't let the Endermen have the final slash, that's reserved for me." Her voice dripped with venom. She tossed him a stone sword this time. Rythian hardly had time to recover before more Endermen swarmed him.

-(line break)-

Zoey was beginning to notice the cardboard cut-out wasn't hugging back, it was set where it was. So she bent the cardboard arms, to give it joints, and when she hugged it, she pulled the stiff arms around her. Deep down, she knew something was missing, the warmth of a real hug from Rythian. It wasn't real.

_No. Stop thinking that way. This is Rythian._ She told herself.

She was no more fond of the gap between her and Tee than Tee. With Zoey always around the cut-out Teep despised so much, Tee couldn't stand to be around her. It was horrible.

-(line break)-

Rythian just barely made it through the several waves of Endermen the Queen had thrown at him. She then jumped into the middle of the Colossuem, and the Endermen spectators hissed in approval.

The Queen didn't let the Endermen kill him, but She certainly was going to. Her purple eyes dared him to attack first, dared him to move. But Rythian didn't. The attacks from the Endermen had drained the fight out of him, which was probably the Queen's plan. She smiled, but not a good smile, and gave him his red matter katar. Not Enderbane, he noted.

"Have to at least give a chance, right?" She hissed.

She lunged at him, dealing a fair amount of damage to him. But despite have good reason to, he didn't fight back. He just stood there.

-(line break)-

"Tee...?" Zoey turned the corner, "Teeeeeeee? Greenman?" she called out. She'd been searching for him all day, with no luck. "Tee! There you are!" She grabbed the mute dinosaur's arm. But Teep shook her off. "Tee..." she mumbled softly.


	11. Not the Best Rescue Plan After All

Tee was, again, no where to be found. Zoey searched, but did not find.

"He... He's just out hunting. Yup. That's what he's doing." Zoey spoke to herself.

Tee couldn't let go of the nagging feeling that Rythian was alive. Not until he found the body. He'd keep searching until he found the body. He shuddered. He didn't like thinking of Rythian as 'the body'. Zoey had definitely lost her mind, and could no longer aid him in trying to find Rythian. If Tee tried to tell her about his belief that Rythian might still be alive, she'd defensively cling to her cardboard cut-out, saying that of course Rythian's alive, he's right there.

Teep carried on searching, leaving Zoey with her cardboard.

-(line break)-

The Queen grew irritated. There was no show if the idiotic Enderborn didn't fight back! Why wasn't he fighting back?! The Queen barely had time to be angry before an arrow hit her. Not a lethal shot- far from it. But when she turned to look at her attacker, she froze.

The most handsome dinosaur she'd ever seen stood in front of her, in a tux with a rose in the lapel. She was struck by him. Rythian's eyes lit up, _Tee!_

Tee had found the portal to the End, and undoubtedly knew Rythian had to be there, so he bravely plunged in. He spawned in a large stadium arena. In the middle, was the Ender Dragon, and...

_Rythian_

__-(line break)-

Zoey would've made a cardboard Tee, but half way through she began sobbing. She hated this feeling. This... loneliness. She hated that word, the only word that could describe her now.

_Alone._

__-(line break)-

Teep remembered Zoey jokingly saying Tee should woo the 'Enderbabe'. It was a joke, but it might work. He opened his pack, and took out his hitman tuxedo and put a red flower in the lapel. It was the best he could do.

He needed to get Her attention, so he drew his bow back, with expert precision, and shot her leg. He did not aim to kill, one silly arrow couldn't do that even if he had aimed to kill. It certainly got the large lizard' s attention.

The Queen turned around and eyed her shooter. She was definitely wooed.

Rythian watched as Tee pursued the Dragon,. He thought of when Zoey'd said Teep should try to attract the 'Enderbabe' (Rythian still wasn't fond of this name Zoey had given the Queen). The Queen made a noise, a very strange one, and Rythian winced as he remembered what that noise was.

A mating call.

Tee had no idea if the noise the Queen made was good or bad, it was so weird... Rythian looked distressed about the noise. How bad could it be?

Rythian tried to motion to Tee to stop- stop at all costs! But Tee didn't get it, and continued. The Endermen that filled the Colossuem had grown irritated at the lack of death, and their Queen's distraction. The angrily squawked in disapproval, but we're much to lazy to act on their threats.

The Queen repeated the call, and Tee, naively, returned it. As best he could mimick her, he did.

_Shit._

**_Inspired by someone on tumblr asking Rythian if Tee could try to attract the Ender dragon, and Rythian responded saying, (something along these lines) "I suggested this to Tee, and he immediately went up stairs and put on his hitman tuxedo and put a rose in the lapel." Just kind of rolled with it from there._**


	12. Mad Dash

_**Hey sorry for no updates in what- a week? Turns out I have a life, and it sort of sprang up this week. Lot of homework, and plans with friends... I decided that it's a much more realistic hope to make this weekly thing instead of daily. Also I'm thinking of doing a sequel after this is over, but honestly I can't come up with a good concept for it. Ideas? Opinions?**_

Zoey threw away the cardboard Rythian. She couldn't look at it anymore; it reminded her of how alone should she was. She didn't sleep, eat, or pay any attention to her beloved farm and mooshrooms. Zoey was alone.

-(line break)-

The Queen advanced on the dinosaur. Teep took a step back. He wasn't sure of what he'd said to her upon returning her noise, but he was beginning to see why Rythian looked so upset, and is wasn't until now that Tee notice Rythian motioning for him to stop. . Tee saw Rythian mouth 'Run!' and so he did. The Queen became angry over the rejection from her mate, and slashed at Tee. She managed to scratch his arms, leaving a deep cut, but Tee kept running, with Rythian following.

The portal wasn't far, they could escape. But so could the Queen. Teep may not have thought about it, but Rythian knew if they left now, they left unfinished business that would come to haunt them.

"Tee! This way!" Rythian yelled out as he ran back in the direction of the prison, his armour and Enderbane should be somewhere in that area. Tee hesitantly followed, very aware of the angry Dragon behind him. They ran into the prison as fast as they could. Rythian began rushing around in search of where his stuff might be.

After a little awhile, Tee held up the hurricane boots and waved to Rythian. The rest of his armour and weapons were stored in here. Rythian retrieved his armour, quickly throwing it on. The Queen was too large to fit in the prison, so she hissed and scratched at the entrance. They were trapped.

-(line break)-

"Hahahahaaaa," Zoey laughed. Her laugh had grown more and more hysterical as she grew more and more alone. "Tee, you silly dinosaur!" She playfully pushed the cardboard dinosaur. She'd somehow found the courage to make a new Teep, but not a new Rythian.

But unlike the real Tee, who could withstand the playful gesture, the cut-out fell over.

Zoey stared for a second. She let the tears well up in her eyes.

Then she wiped them away furiously and picked up the cut-out, setting it back safely on its feet.

She smiled.

But not her usual, vibrant smile. This smile shook and collapsed, as if the physical weight of her emotional state built up and caused it to crumble.

-(line break)-

The Queen was hissing in anger in front of the exit to the prison. Rythian took a step back. How we're they supposed to get out? Tee nudged Rythian and motioned out towards the Queen. Rythian didn't quite understand the mute dinosaur's gesture.

"Tee this is no time for charades!" Rythian scolded. Tee shook his head and continued to make frantic gestures in an attempt to communicate. Rythian sighed.

The Queen scratched at the entrance, searching for Tee. Rythian held up Enderbane.

"No choice but to attack, I guess." he said as he lunged forward, slicing at the Queen. The Queen lurched back as the cut on her leg began to sizzle and slowly scar over. Rythian continued to slice at the Queen until she moved back enough to open the entrance. Rythian- still holding Enderbane towards the Queen- grabbed Tee's arm and bolted out.

Rythian wasn't sure they could escape. He wasn't sure of anything anymore.


	13. For the Dinosaur

_**11 pm on a school night? Can't sleep? Write! Excuse any typos- I'm tired and have really crappy eyesight. They don't mix well.**_

Nilesy had become concerned for Zoey, and went to visit her.

What he found did not concern him; it scared him.

Zoey was a wreck; skin and bones, a red mass of hair, clothing that hung around her, as if they were 2 sizes too big. But the most frightening part was the cardboard Teep. Nilesy could not get over this.

He'd been coming down to Blackrock to tend to the unattended mooshrooms, lest Nilesy JR suffer, but he had seen naught of Zoey, and now that he did, he didn't want to.

"Niiillessyyy!" her voice trembled and shook. Nilesy could remember a time, that seemed so far away, when her voice radiated confidence, happiness...

"Zoey...!" he replied, doing his best to not stare at the mess his friend had become.

"How ya beeeeen, how're the mooshroooooms?" she rattled.

"Great... great... and, uh... how about yourself...?"

Zoey hesitated. The kind of hesitation when someone isn't sure whether or not to hide something, whether or not to locking it away deep down.

"I'm... great! Spectacular! Awesome!" she overdid it. Nilesy could see right through her words; lonely, lost, dying. Maybe he could help, he figured. If he came to visit constantly, and gave her a sense that someone is still there for her, maybe she'd get better. Maybe he could get her to eat regularly again. Maybe.

But in a case like Zoey's, there are no maybes, only certainties or uncertainties. And Nilesy couldn't cause a certainty.

-(line break)-

Rythian, now armed and armoured, went straight for the Queen. He couldn't leave this behind again, he had to face his problem. He frantically called to Tee, "Leave, leave! Get out while you can!" But Teep wasn't running for the portal, he was running into battle.

Rythian tried to get Tee to go home, but their time to argue was limited and Rythian had to just let Teep stay. The Queen was no longer interested in Rythian, no no no no. She wanted the dinosaur. She wanted that handsome dinosaur in the tux. But that pesky Enderborn stood in her way.

Rythian moved quickly; he always knew the Queen's weak spot, and if he didn't act quick, he'd miss his chance. He flew forward, jabbing at her with Enderbane right where her jaw and neck separated. Had he done it right? The blade would have to go so precisely through a certain spot there...

The Queen screeched, but did not fall, and swatted Rythian down to the ground. He sputtered and coughed as the dust from the floor of the arena settled around him.

Tee, unarmed and armourless, was targeted. Rythian sprang the ground as fast as possible and jumped in front of Tee.

Just in time to take deep a slash across the chest.


	14. Life Goes On, Right?

_**This is it, guys. This. Is. It. The final chapter of**_** Enderborn****_ you excited? I am, cause I figured out a good plot for the sequal, so just applaud in advanced everyone. Applaud. I am updating this in a highly insomniac state. It's 2 am. I deserve an applaud._**

Nilesy tried his best to help Zoey. He got her to talk more, and to eat some, but she still looked a mess, and her voice, smile, and laugh still shook in a hysterical manner. He tried visiting once or twice a week, but soon realized she needed him there everyday. He temporarily moved into the rubble of Blackrock. He brought very little with him, since the nuke'd been abandoned and could detonate at any moment. That made he nervous. If Zoey survived the nuke, he couldn't even imagine how broken- both inside and out- she'd be. If she didn't... well, Nilesy preferred to not explore that option.

He'd started taking her outside, to breathe the fresh air. Only for short periods at first, but soon for rather lengthy trips to see the mooshrooms. She was pulling herself back together, but slowly, and hardly any progress has truly been made.

-(line break)-

Rythian collapsed before Teep's eyes, and Tee couldn't help but think, in spite of himself, _The body_.

The Queen smirked. When she'd gone to slash the dinosaur, it was out of anger from rejection, and never meant to be fatal. Or at least not fatal to the dinosaur. But after the dust cleared and she saw that pesky Enderborn's bloodied body laying in front of her, she felt overwhelming joy. _It's dead! It's dead! It's deaaddd!_ she sang to herself, joyously.

Tee watched with amazement as Rythian had jumped in front of him. He _let_ Rythian take the hit. He watched with horror as he collapsed. As he became _the body_. He was, now, suddenly stricken with regret. All the things he could've and should've done... all that would've and could've led to Rythian staying alive. Tee couldn't shake the haunting feeling the he just _let_ Rythian die. Right in front of him.

The Queen now made a more... romantic, in its own way, move toward her mate. Tee jumped back. He had to get out of here! Where was the portal, again?

He didn't have time to pick up Rythian- or rather, Rythian's _body_- before he ran for the exit.

Teep jumped through the portal and returned home, still wishing he'd grabbed Rythian- No, he reminded himself- Rythian's _body_ before he'd left.

-(line break)-

"Tee?! Greenman?" Zoey exclaimed. Nilesy dismissed her talking to the cut-out, but when Zoey started jumping up and down and waving her arms frantically, he knew something had to be up, so he walked outside.

There was Zoey, next to the mooshrooms where he'd left her, hugging Tee.

Not the cut-out.

The actual Teepasaurus Rex.

Zoey tried to mask her disappoint in only seeing Tee with her excitement about seeing Tee, but her mouth betrayed her.

"W-where's Rythian...?" she looked up at the dinosaur hopefully.

The dinosaur looked away. Even if he could explain to Zoey what had happened, he wouldn't. Things could maybe go back to normal.

Life went on without Rythian, _Right?_


End file.
